The 14th Festival of Education will take place at Wellington College on the 4 & 5 July 2024 and we are delighted to be there with our collective of inclusion and well-being experts hosting a GEC strand of 6 sessions all about Student Voice! So you can vote on the 4th July and then come and join us on the 5th to celebrate student voice!
Schedule of Sessions
9.30-10.15am Students. First, Always. In this session, Nic will discuss her doctoral research into edtech, EDI and intersectionality. She will then bring in students to discuss how students need a voice and what happens when they are given one! Nic Ponsford, Founder of the GEC, staff + students from Pioneer Academy School (Slough, England).
2. 10.30-11.15am A Class Act - What does Intentional Inclusion look like for our Students? With rising numbers of home schooling and the introduction of virtual schools, is it now time that the education sector offers a range of solutions for our future cohorts of students?
Kim Ruhal (chair) Chief Global Strategist, GEC
Marius Frank, Co-Head of Microlink
Trevor Benstock, Director of IT Bradfield College and Founder of Campus XR
3. 11.45-12.30 Student Voices - Online + On Fleek Social media, esports and online communities are creating safe spaces for students outside of the classroom - how is this improving outcomes, without the tracking?
Zahara Chowdbury, Schools Should Be and EDI University of Buckingham
Tommy Hatto, actor, body image and mental health advocate
GEC Shadow Advisory Board - Jack Clark, Former Board member of UK Schools Sustainability Network (6th former) and Abdi Omar, motivational speaker and Accessibility Technology expert
4. 12.45 - 1.30pm Students + Re-presentation Students are changing the dial - so how do we keep up with them? Understanding how we best present ourselves to students will be explored in this session.
Nic Ponsford, Founder of the GEC (chair)
Albert Adeyemi, Founder of Black.MenTeach
Caroline Keep, award-winning educator & PhD researcher
Karl C Pupe FRSA, 'Action Hero Teacher' and award-winning author.
5. 2.45 - 3.30pm Taking the Pixels - 23rd Century Students In a world of AI and assistive technology, how can we build an online safe space for our future students.
Dan Fitzpatrick, AI author and expert (chair)
Luke Ramsden, Independent school SLT and Safeguarding Advisor
Caroline Allams, Founder of Natterhub
Frances Akinde, SEND Advisor and Former Headteacher (need to check with BAMEed sessions - meeting after Easter)
6. Students First - Intentional Inclusion We could then do another Q&A panel with speakers from across the day with the audience if you want! Find out more information here.